The Avengers: Gravity
by Neuros
Summary: Gravity is alive and of unknown origin. Her intentions are simply non existent, as she does not know her purpose.


The Avengers. A team of amazing people. A team with its difficulties. A team of friends. A family. Desperately trying to help their friend, their enemy. Loki. He was his own enemy. And there's the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. He was at war with himself. All he's ever wanted was love.  
And Thor, his brother, will make sure he gets it. He will do everything. EVERYthing and ANYthing. He loves the brother he knew and grew up with. He refuses to give up on Loki. So, he returns to Midgard and asks to get someone in to help Loki. A psychiatrist. Although this person would have to be quite strong, or powerful and very patient. Or maybe just too positive to take his seemingly endless list of insults.  
They had to confine him in a room, which had the necessities only. And one way mirrors, so that they could monitor him at all times. Thor begged to get them to NOT put microphones in the room, so he could get some privacy. But they didn't. Not to begin with.  
It's an early Friday morning, 8.49am to be exact. Thor had had no sleep as the avengers were called in to see something. And what he had witnessed rendered him unable to sleep. It's so horrible... He kept thinking to himself. But I simply cannot, no MUST NOT give up. I just...cannot... He sipped his fourth glass of water, his hands shaking from exhaustion. Tony and Cap walked in the room and seen Thor is his bad state, gave each other a look.  
'Thor, maybe you should get some sleep. They've sedated him. There's nothing to be awake for.' Tony said, sitting down next to Thor. Thor shook his head, not listening.  
'No. I cannot. He's my brother, he needs me, he-'  
'Thor. Get to bed. Now.' Cap said, through gritted teeth and a little compassion. Thor sighed deeply, knowing that they were right.  
'If anything happens, you will tell me?' Thor asked, the thought of sleep becoming sweeter and sweeter. Tony and Cap both nodded. Thor headed off to his room, grimacing as he took each step for he ached so much. As he lay on the bed, he welcomed the warm, sweet embrace of sleep...  
Tony, Cap and Bruce all watched the camera footage of Loki's cell. Bruce sighed, shaking his head.  
'How are we supposed to tame that?' He said, snorting as he watched Loki weakly toss a chair across his cell, falling to the ground, scrambling up onto his feet and running his shoulder into the wall several times, all the while screaming 'LET ME OUT OF HERE'. They were at a cross roads. Calming him down would mean letting him out, letting him out would mean he might get free and they'd end up having to look for him in the dense city. Although he wouldn't be hard to spot in a crowd, he is smart enough to avoid people all together. So, the best decision would be to leave him in the cell until they figured out a way to calm him down. The door opened and Fury walked in the room, a smile on his face.  
'Come with me, I want you to meet someone.' He headed out the room. As the four of them were walking down a corridor, Tony leant in on Bruce.  
'The psychiatrist meant to help Loki, maybe?' Bruce nodded and agreed with Tony.  
'It's possible.' He answered, seeming doubtful. They arrived outside in a car park, which had many a intense, battle ready looking army vans. The distant sound of the roaring of a motorbike engine soon grew, filling the silence and a shiny, black motorbike pulled up beside one of the army vans. The person took off their helmet, revealing themself to be a woman, young. In her late 20's, maybe. She placed her helmet on her motorbikes seat and on very heavy feet walked over to them. Her hair was messy and she looked tired.  
'Get plenty sleep?' Fury asked, seeing her tiredness. She went to say 'no', but he interrupted her. 'Good, because you're going to need it.' She frowned at his interruption, but shrugged it off.  
'What for?' She yawned, as they headed into the building. Fury looked back at her and smiled.  
They arrived in the room opposite Loki's cell, Fury turned the lights on in Loki's cell. Loki was lying in a heap on the floor, looking like he had wandered off at a mushroom party by the way he was lying. He was motionless on the floor, the lights not breaking his sleep. Fury turned on a microphone and spoke into it.  
'Loki.' He called, simply. Loki didn't move. The woman peered into the cell further, looking at the bizarre cell the called his 'room'. It was a cell. It was not going to help someone like him. She walked over to the room door and went to go into Loki's cell. She was stopped by the strong hand and stern expression of Bruce. She glared at him and told him to lock the cell door behind her. He glanced at Fury for approval. He nodded and Bruce let her in the cell, locking it behind her. She lightly stepped over to Loki's motionless body, almost cautious. Thor arrived in the room with the rest of them, after hearing them walking down the corridor. He seen his brother lying on the floor and his eyes filled with tears. The woman knelt down beside Loki, checking for a pulse. He was alive...although he seemed almost dead, in a way. She rolled him onto his back and picked him up, placing him on his bed. He seemed to shift, but only briefly. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it gently. Nothing. He began to snore, as though in spite. She shook his shoulder more vigorously. Still nothing.  
'Good lord, what have they been giving you?' She whispered to herself, standing over him. She lifted a hand and swiped it across his face, a resounding slap filling the painful silence. He flinched, scrambling in to a sitting position. His face was full of shock and he froze, staring at the strange woman's face. There was sweat running down his face and his cheeks were gaunt and pale.  
'Who are you?' He spurted, trying to shake off the shock of the impact. She stared at him for a moment.  
'Gravity.' She said, walking away from the bed slightly, allowing him room to breathe. Loki frowned, looking her from head to toe, curiously.  
'Gravity? What kind of foolish name is that? Huh?' His mean side was not far gone and the Loki that had to be sedated was back. Gravity chuckled, as Loki stood up in front of her threateningly.  
'Believe me when I say, it suits me.' She smiled wide at his comment.  
'Well, what kind of-' He was unable to continue his sentence because he was so entranced by how much this 'Gravity' smiled. Why was she smiling? She should be fearing him! After all, he is Loki! But she knew his current state. And she had met people like this before, all talk and no action.  
'Do you want to see why I am called Gravity?' She smiled, tilting her head. Loki didn't like how cheery she was, but he couldn't help his curiosity. He nodded and she took a step back. She began to lift off the ground and gradually flipped, almost attaching herself to the ceiling. 'I can alter gravity at will.' Loki stared up at her in sheer confusion. Even her hair was sitting naturally as though the world's gravity had suddenly inverted. His mouth formed a silent 'what?' Gravity flipped herself back round on to the floor of the cell. She grinned and looked towards one of the mirrored walls to where Fury and the other superheroes were. Loki followed her gaze, confused.  
'What are you looking at, earthling?' He spat, almost as though he was forcing mean remarks from his mouth.  
'First off. Really? Why would they put you in a room full of mirrors? If they could just put you in a room with normal walls. Secondly.' She took a step towards him, making the distance between them uncomfortable, so that he could feel her breath on his face. 'What makes you so sure I'm Midgardian?' Loki stared at her eyes; they didn't look Midgardian, when he really looked at them. She stepped to the side a little, pacing around the room. His facial expression was stuck on a look of realisation. Is it possible? He whirled round to say something and seen her standing, staring at the small cell with disapproval. 'I think we should do this place up. Maybe add some colour.' Loki shook his head, trying to understand her statement.  
'What? Why?' Loki questioned, she wasn't listening though.  
'What's your favourite colour?' She asked, smiling at him. He paused.  
'Green...why?' Loki took a step towards her.  
'To paint with.' She stated, motioning to the room. Loki frowned through confusion.  
'To paint what?' She stared at him with a poker face. 'What?'  
'The mirrors!' She flipped her hands around at the room. 'Or, get them replaced with concrete walls to paint on, or something.' Loki just stared at her.  
_Why does she want to paint the room green? What a strange woman..._Loki's inner voice whispered to himself.  
'When was the last time you seen the sunlight?' Loki shrugged...  
It must have been days. Weeks, possibly since he had seen the light of a sun. Now that Loki thought about it, he would usually watch the sun rise on the mornings in Asgard when he could not sleep, but Thor refused to leave his bed. Loki's eyes fell to the ground and began to sting. He turned away from Gravity, his back to all of them.  
_Only here to tease me, yes. She is, that's what she is doing. Here to remind me that I am being held against my will. She is an enemy, yes. AN ENEMY!_ Loki's twisted mind demanded.  
'Would you join me in watching the sun set?' She whispered, walking towards him. 'And possibly have a bath, because you stink.' Loki stared round at her in disbelief. He exhaled shakily. To see the setting of a sun, would be brilliant. She held out a hand, Loki stared at it. He looked at it, but didn't want to take it. She raised her eyebrows and walked towards the door. Of course it was locked. She placed two hands on the door, shut her eyes and concentrated. She was moving individual door parts to find out how to unlock it by altering their gravities. She unlocked the door and let Loki out before her. She led him past the room where Fury and the other four were. They ran out, making a quiet commotion. Fury went to say something, when she held up a hand, grabbing Loki's arm before he could wander off. 'If you want Loki to regain his old personality, you'd better start treating him like a person.' She walked off with Loki, to the rooftop and the sun was just beginning to set. She let him walk towards the edge of the building as she carefully glanced for security cameras. He let the suns dying warmth spill in and he closed his eyes, a tear running down his pale cheek. He grasped the wall around the edge of the building with both of his hands and began to sob. Once, he sobbed. And twice, until he fell to his knees and his sobbing was uncontrolled. Gravity watched as he broke down, biting her lip. She walked over to him, kneeling down beside him and went to place a hand on his shoulder, but decided on sitting next to him. He was facing the wall, his hands still holding it's edges as though for support. His sobs were painful to listen to. He was so full of all these emotions and didn't know how to handle them. From the looks of it, he had never been one for liberating his emotions properly. Gravity turned her head to face him and his arms lost their grip, scraping his palms on the rough surface of the wall and spots of blood appeared on his hands. He stared at them and began to sob even harder. He stared up at the sky, taking a deep breath. The sky was clear, with the exception of a few wisps. He swallowed, tears running down his cheeks without the company of a sob. Gravity stared at Loki, softly. She glanced at a camera that had just moved to face them. She glared and walked up to it, pulling out a wire and the flashing red light died. She walked back over to Loki, who was now finding a place of peace. He lowered his gaze to meet Gravity's and avoided it, seeming embarrassed. She smiled warmly. 'No need to hide those pretty eyes of yours.' She said, Loki looked up at her and his lips twitched at the edges. Gravity tilted her head, grinning. 'Is that a smile I see?' He turned away, making her unable to see his expression.  
It was at that point Loki began to think to himself.  
Why did I do this? I don't deserve to be alive...I have no place here. Not in the place of loving world...not anywhere... Gravity slapped a hand on Loki's shoulder, smiling at him in attempt to lift the mood. He stared at her and she handed him a tissue. He took it, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose.  
'Do you want to go back inside now?' Gravity asked in a soft tone of voice. I don't want to be anywhere... Loki nodded and stood up, Gravity joining him. They walked back inside.  
The next morning Loki awoke with stinging eyes. He had wept until he fell asleep. It wouldn't surprise him if he wept in his sleep. He hated feeling like this. But...it was, almost relieving...He heard the unlocking of his cell door and his older brother walked in, something in his hands. Loki sat up to look at Thor, who had clenched jaws and tearful eyes. He strode towards his little brother and picked him up, squeezing his little brother in affection. It was like the old times. When Loki would fall over and scrape his knee. He would be carried in by one of the guards and Thor would come to his side, wait until he was bandaged up and give him a hug like this. Loki weakly wrapped his cold arms around Thor's large frame, his hands not even meeting. Thor finally let go, wiping tears from his eyes and held up two odd looking contraptions.  
'Uh, I'm meant to put these on your wrists. Security, or something.' Thor explained, not quite understanding what they were meant to do. Loki held up his wrists and his brother placed one of the contraptions on his wrist, clicking it shut around his wrist. It was like a bracelet. He put the other on Loki's other wrist. Thor motioned Loki out of the cell and Loki stood in disbelief. 'Do you want some breakfast?' Thor offered a weak smile. Loki returned it with a faint smile and walked out the cell.  
Thor led his quiet, little brother through the corridors and they entered a room. The Avengers had assembled and were all having breakfast. They looked up at Thor and Loki.  
'Morning.' Thor said, trying to break the silence. It was like Loki was that quiet kid no one spoke to at school and Thor was the popular kid, everyone being surprised to see them together. Loki held his head low and felt like the person everyone hated. He even hated himself. Thor sat him down on a vacant couch, everyone watching him in the corner of their eyes. Thor handed his brother a plate with scrambled egg, bacon and toast.  
'Everything is better with bacon.' Tony stated, shoving an entire slice into his mouth, smiling at everyone else. Cap smiled and chuckled, enjoying his own bit of morning bacon. Loki placed the plate on his lap, unwillingly picking up the knife and fork. He wasn't that bothered about food, but he knew if he wanted Thor to be happy, he should eat it all and more if he could stomach it. He lifted the first fork full, getting ready to gag. But he was surprised. It was delicious. He chewed and swallowed, shovelling more in his mouth. It wasn't long before his plate was clean. Thor returned with his own breakfast, expecting Loki to be picking at his own tiny crumb by tinier crumb and was surprised to see his little brother had cleaned his plate. Thor chuckled loudly and patted his brother on the back, tucking in to his own. Loki remembered yesterday. He remembered Gravity. What a strange woman she was. Always smiling...I wonder why she smiles all the time...Loki wondered what her secret was. And also...Why was she so kind to me? She acted as if she knew me... He shook his head, not bothering to think about it and began to pick at his nails; the silence was making him bored. He tapped his foot and looked around himself. He wanted out of that cell so badly, but now he was out. It was kind of boring.  
Gravity opened her eyes. The morning light filled her eyes and the blanket she was sleeping on was cold from the earth cooling down overnight. She yawned and stretched. Sat up and glanced over at Bently. That what she called her motorbike. The only companion she had that had stuck with her since they first met. Although, Bently was a bike, not a living creature, Gravity still gave it as much love and care as she would a living creature. She stood up, looking around at the greenery and birds flocked out of the bushes near her. The morning sun was warm, but there was a chill wind in the air. She folded up her blanket and tucked it into the pack at the back of her bike. She sat on the seat of her bike, smiling at the bliss around her. Started her engine and drove off the grass and onto a nearby road, to go hunt for some breakfast.  
'You know what you need, Loki?' Tony suggested, bacon still in his mouth, yet he happily spoke. Loki looked at him. 'A girlfriend.' Loki looked down, a blank expression on his face. 'Or...boyfriend?' Tony raised his eyebrows. Thor raised his head, interested.  
'I was going to ask that, actually.' Thor began, looking to his brother. 'Have you ever had a girlfriend or boyfriend? Whichever takes your fancy...or both!' Loki smiled slightly.  
'I, uh...' He lowered his gaze to his feet. 'No.' Tony stared at him, unbelieving.  
'You've never had a girlfriend or boyfriend.' Tony repeated. Loki shook his head. 'You want me to find you one?'  
'He doesn't need a prostitute.' Widow scoffed, looking at Tony. Tony shrugged, mouthing 'what?'.  
'Maybe he does.' Hawkeye smirked, looking at how uncomfortable Loki was on this topic. 'Might help him loosen up a bit.' Everyone thought about it and nodded. Then looked at Loki, who was avoiding everyone's gaze and his fingers were all of a sudden so interesting.  
'So, is it guys or girls you like?' Tony asked, Loki looked up at him. 'What? Both?' Loki didn't answer, just pursed his lips and clenched his jaw in discomfort. 'I think it's both. You like some breasts for breakfast, but you love some balls in the evening-OW!' Cap punched him on the shoulder. Loki had to hold back a smile and laugh. Thor put a hand on his brothers' shoulders and Loki lowered his head as he smiled.  
'Does that amuse you, brother?' Thor asked, smiling wide at seeing his brother happy. Loki shook his head and discarded the feeling of amusement. Hawkeye stood up and switched on the TV to fill the silence and turned on the news. Nothing unusual. 'Have you seen one of these things, brother?' Thor asked, a huge smile on his face as he watched in amazement. Loki looked at his brother.  
'Yes, it's a TV.' Loki muttered, not amused. Thor frowned at his brother, putting an arm around his tense shoulders.  
'Lighten up, brother.' Thor whispered to him, smirking at Loki. Who proceeded to watch the tv.  
'...An unknown woman saved the day when a car being driven by a drunken man had stopped in the middle of a bridge and another car drove over the edge of the bridge in an attempt to avoid crashing. This mysterious woman stopped the car with her bare hands and continued to check the driver and passengers were alright before leaving on a motorbike. Authorities are still looking for this woman's identity. Although, we have a video caught on an eye witnesses mobile phone...'  
The TV showed footage of a woman stopping a car by touching it with her hands and letting it down on the ground, carefully, then checking the passengers, getting on a motorbike a driving off.  
'Is that?' Tony began. They all stared in disbelief.  
'Gravity.' Loki said, unaware that he had thought aloud. They nodded.  
'...Who is this mysterious super heroine? And what is she doing here?...' The TV announcer continued.  
The elevator door pinged and guess who walked through the door? Yep; Gravity.  
'HEY! You were just on the news!' Tony shouted, excitedly. She smiled and didn't look all that interested. She looked rough. 'Late night?' She ignored him, holding up a few small bags.  
'I'm supposed to put this somewhere.' She stated, rubbing her eyes.  
'Oh, ok. Uh, there should be a room down there.' Widow pointed towards a corridor. 'Just open them until you find one that isn't being used.' Gravity nodded and apathetically dragged her bags along the ground as she walked down the corridor.  
Gravity eventually found an unused room and placed her bags in it, closing the door. She lay on the bed, smiling wide as she sank into the soft, puffy duvet.  
A knock brought Gravity out of her blissful nap and she called to come in. A shy looking Loki was at the door. He nervously eyed her lying on the bed and quickly glanced to the side. She smiled at him.  
'Uhm, do you want to join us for lunch?' He mumbled, making brief moments of eye contact. Gravity looked at his body language for a moment and then nodded. She slid off the bed and stood beside Loki in the door frame, smiling as she went past. They sat down around a fancy high table, where the avengers were sitting eating sandwiches and sipping tea. Gravity looks at the sandwiches with a pale face. Tony looks at her, frowning hard. A few others notice Gravity's pale face.  
'What's wrong?' One of them asks, as Gravity picks up the sandwich with her finger tips and eyes it with wide eyes. Gravity sniffs it, putting it down on the table and returning her hands to her lap, looking like she didn't want to eat.  
'You're not going to eat the sandwich?' Thor asks, eyeballing her rejected sandwich. She shakes her head. Loki looks at her with a confused look. Thor raises his hand and motions to the sandwich. 'May I?' Gravity nods. Thor takes the sandwich and eats the whole thing in one bite. Gravity just sits there, not moving. 'Are you not going to eat?' Thor asks, a mouth full of sandwich. Gravity looks at him and smiles, shaking her head.  
'Why not?' Tony asks, a hint of his smartass attitude coming through. Loki looks at Gravity curiously as he bites a sandwich.  
'I hate bread. And mayonnaise.' Her upper lip curls as she looks at the sandwich. 'Where I come from, bread does not exist so it is strange to me.'  
'Yeah. Where are you from again?' Widow asks, eyes narrowing and suspicions rising. Loki stares at Gravity, eagerly wanting to know. Gravity lowers her head, as though trying to think.  
'Uh...I, eh...' She mutters, unable to come up with a feasible lie. They all look at her with looks of confusion. 'Some...place...in the universe...yeeeeaah...' She nods, smiling at herself.  
'Sooo, can you do anything other than alter gravity?' Cap asks, doubtfully. Gravity looks at him with a blank face, tilts her head, left eye twitching.  
'Of course.' She hisses, a smirk on her lips. 'I can fight with gravity. I am Gravity.' Cap nods, disbelievingly. She seems almost annoyed at his lack of belief. Who is he to judge my talents? My skills? She grinned wide at her own thoughts.  
'Oh, and are you the psychiatrist who's supposed to help Loki here?' Tony asks, motioning towards Loki. Gravity smiles and nods. 'You seem a little too ecstatic to be a psychiatrist.'  
'Sometimes to know the minds darkness, you need to live it.' Gravity's expression falls to a sad one, almost as though holding back tears and laughter at the same time. 'You need to...know it like a best friend. But sometimes best friends betray and twist you, so you then need to defend yourself. Then you'll know how to fight it and you can teach others to.' Loki laughed loudly, sighing deeply. He looks up at Gravity, who is not the only one looking at him in annoyance. He shrugs his shoulders and Gravity smirks, looking at her hands.  
'I like you.' Loki stated simply, a smile on his lips. Thor grins wide at his brother, glancing between his little brother and Gravity.  
'Hey, Gravity?'  
'Yes, Stark?'  
'Can I call you Gravy?' Gravity stares at Tony now. Nonplussed. Eyes wide.  
'What?'  
'Gravy, can I call you Gravy?'  
'Why would you want to call me Gravy? What is Gravy?' Gravity questions Tony's bizarre ideas and is oblivious to the strange looks she is now receiving.  
'You don't know what gravy is?' Hawkeye laughed, raising his hands to his temples in confusion. Gravity leapt out of her seat, her gaze averting to the windows. Her body was tensed and her fists were clenched as though threatened. They all stared at her, frightened.

WHIZ. Crash, smash-BOOM.

The avengers are blown out of their seats and dust clouds form around their limp bodies. Gravity looks around her, lowering her gravitational bubble. Breathing in the dust and debris, she coughs. Her eyes stung, her ears rang. Her head swayed and she spotted bodies just as the world turned sideways...

'THOR!' No answer. A pain ridden yelp filled the dusty silence and was followed by a crashing sound. Another cough and an arm tore its way out of the pile of debris. Another arm and soon a torso brought themselves up from the debris. Loki looked around him. It was devastation. Everything was destroyed. He could not see his brother. He couldn't see anyone. He managed to free his legs of the debris and shakily stood up. He took a few steps, clinging onto fallen bits of the ceiling. 'THOR!' He called again through a torn up throat. He coughed intensely, spitting the debris filled spittle on the floor. He regained his concentration and began to frantically hunt for his brother, or anyone for that matter. He began throwing bits of debris around, adrenaline giving him strength he had forgotten. No one. He continued, soon coming to the mouth of the devastation. A giant hole had been blown out the side of the building. His eyes filled up. The worst thoughts haunted him, taunting him with a painful reality. He was broken from his trance when he heard a cough and movement below him. His eyes stared wide, no longer caring about the dust. He seen a moving body and he jumped down to the floor below him, his legs giving way as he landed. But he didn't care. He wanted to find his brother. He limped towards the body, knees giving way when he reached the bodies side. He turned them over. It wasn't his brother. It was Gravity. She looked…strangely clean. He shook her shoulder, trying to wake her. She faltered for a moment and then shot up as though from a nightmare. She panted, beads of sweating running down her face. She looked around her. She clutched Loki's upper arm, squeezing.

'What?' She croaked her eyes staring and wide. Loki shook his head. She stared around Loki and herself at the destruction, almost in a trance. Loki called her name, although she didn't react. Loki grabbed both sides of her face and forced her to look him in the eyes.  
'Have you seen Thor?' Loki shouted, over the ringing in his ears. Gravity shook her head, quickly. She scrambled to her feet, Loki joining her. She realised just how bad the destruction was. A breeze washed over them and they looked down the side of the building, Gravity pulled back her stomach flipping and she feel to her bottom, having stumbled over some wood she did not notice. Loki ran back to help her to her feet and she thanked him. They clambered up to the next floor where they were all originally. They hunted for what seemed hours, but found no one. The whole team was just gone. Not a trace. It didn't seem right. There were empty spaces where bodies would lie. Well, they wouldn't leave without Loki, that's for sure. But, they needed to find them. They had nowhere to start, no clues, no traces.


End file.
